Cheetos (formerwy stywed as Chee-tos untiw 1998) is a brand of cheese-fwavored puffed cornmeaw snacks made by Frito-Lay, a subsidiary of PepsiCo. Fritos creator Charwes Ewmer Doowin invented Cheetos in 1948, and began nationaw distribution in de U.S. The initiaw success of Cheetos was a contributing factor to de merger between The Frito Company and H.W. Lay & Company in 1961 to form Frito-Lay. In 1965 Frito-Lay became a subsidiary of The Pepsi-Cowa Company, forming PepsiCo, de current owner of de Cheetos brand.

In 2010, Cheetos was ranked as de top sewwing brand of cheese puffs in its primary market of de United States; worwdwide de annuaw retaiw sawes totawed approximatewy $4 biwwion, uh-hah-hah-hah. The originaw Crunchy Cheetos are stiww in production but de product wine has since expanded to incwude 21 different types of Cheetos in Norf America awone. As Cheetos are sowd in more dan 36 countries, de fwavor and composition is often varied to match regionaw taste and cuwturaw preferences—such as Savory American Cream in China, and Strawberry Cheetos in Japan.[1]

Contents

History

Cheetos were invented in 1948 by Fritos creator Charwes Ewmer Doowin, who cooked earwy test batches in de Frito Company's Dawwas, Texas-based research and devewopment kitchen, uh-hah-hah-hah. The cheese-fwavored snack sowd qwickwy, but Doowin did not have de production or distribution capacity to support a nationwide waunch. This wed Doowin to partner wif potato chip businessman Herman W. Lay for marketing and distribution, and Cheetos were introduced nationawwy in de U.S. in 1948 awong wif a potato product cawwed Fritatos.[2] The success of Cheetos prompted Doowin and Lay to merge deir two companies in 1961, forming Frito-Lay Inc.[3] At de time, Cheetos was one of four warge snack food brands produced by de company, which had annuaw revenues of $127 miwwion, uh-hah-hah-hah.[4] Frito-Lay merged wif de Pepsi-Cowa Company to form PepsiCo in 1965, prompting furder distribution of Cheetos outside of Norf America.[5]

Whiwe Cheetos was de first snack food of its kind, competing products in de snack food category have since emerged—incwuding Utz Cheese Curws, Herr's Cheese Curws and WiseCheez Doodwes. Most of de competing cheese-fwavored snacks are distributed in specific regions of de U.S., and as of 2010 Cheetos remains as de top-sewwing cheese puff in America.[3][6]

Products and distribution

A sampwe of Crunchy Cheetos

The first Cheetos product was Crunchy Cheetos, invented in 1948 in San Antonio, Texas. Crunchy Cheetos remained de brand's sowe product for 23 years untiw de introduction of Cheetos Puffs in 1971. The baked varieties, oderwise known as Baked Cheetos, became avaiwabwe beginning in 2004. As of 2010, dere are 21 different variants of Cheetos snacks distributed in de United States.[11] In addition to de originaw Crunchy Cheetos, Cheetos Puffs and Baked varieties are sowd in awternate shape and fwavor variations—incwuding a spicy variety known as Fwamin' Hot Cheetos.[12]

Cheetos are among de snack varieties incwuded in de Frito-Lay Munchies snack mix.

Wif de introduction of Frito-Lay's Naturaw Line, Cheetos Naturaw were introduced in de mid-2000s, wif aww naturaw ingredients, and naturaw, and reaw Wisconsinwhite cheddar, Cheetos Naturaw are uniqwe for Cheetos. They accompany oders in de Naturaw wine, and are a direct competitor to oder naturaw competitors, such as Pirate's Booty.

Cheetos first entered Braziw in 1976,[13] fowwowed by oder countries such as Austrawia during de 1980s.[14] In 1994, Cheetos became de first American brand of snack food to be made and distributed in China.[15] As de distribution of Cheetos expanded outside de U.S. to incwude more dan 36 different countries,[16] wocawized versions were produced to conform to regionaw tastes and cuwturaw preferences.[17]

Frito-Lay conducted extensive testing before settwing on fwavors for de Chinese market, wif ranch dressing, Norf Sea crab, smoked octopus and caramew being passed up for two fwavors: Savory American Cream and Zesty Japanese Steak.[18] These fwavors were produced as de resuwt of focus group testing, in which de originaw Crunchy Cheetos did not test as weww.[18][19]Strawberry Cheetos, a variation of de originaw Crunchy Cheetos dipped in a fwavored icing, are produced and distributed in Japan.[20] Awso produced in Japan are Mountain Dew-fwavored Cheetos.[21] In India, Cheetos Whoosh are sowd, made of ingredients such as whowe grain and vegetabwes.[22] In Pakistan Cheetos are avaiwabwe in six different fwavors: 'Bites: Vegetabwe', 'Stars: Cream N' Herb', 'Ocean Safari: Cheese', 'X & O: Spicy Twist', 'Red Fwavoured Mast' and 'Ketchup'.[23] The sowe Cheetos product produced in Austrawia is Cheetos Cheese & Bacon Bawws.[24] Cheetos come in many different cowors, de most popuwar being orange and red.

In 2015, Cheetos rowwed out a wimited edition cinnamon sugar-fwavored snack cawwed "Sweetos" to U.S. markets. Sweetos was de first sweet snack dat Cheetos has reweased in de brand's 67-year history.[25]

Manufacturing

Cheetos are manufactured by bwending corn and water. The germ of de corn is removed to prevent spoiwing; de germwess corn is den ground into cornmeaw. Because de cornmeaw wacks de nutrients provided by de germs, it is enriched by adding nutrients in order to increase its nutritionaw vawue. (Enriched cornmeaw is found in de fowwowing fwavors: Crunchy,[26] Puffs,[27] Fwamin' Hot Crunchy,[28][29] Fwamin' Hot Puffs,[30] Fwamin' Hot Limon Crunchy,[31] XXTRA Fwamin' Hot Crunchy,[32] Reduced Fat Fwamin' Hot Puffs,[33] Reduced Fat Puffs,[34] and Cheddar Jawapeño Crunchy.[35]) The mixture is heated under pressure, and den extruded drough a die. The texture of de snack is formed as a resuwt of contact wif hot air, causing steam in de mixture to expand and creating its characteristic texture. After oven-drying or frying, de product is den tumbwed wif de desired fwavor components (de originaw Crunchy Cheetos are fried). The process takes approximatewy 19 minutes and each hawf hour an in-house wab team inspects and taste-tests each batch. At dis point, de resuwt of de inspection is determined by comparing each batch to product sent from Frito-Lay headqwarters.[36] Oder fwavor and format variations such as Cheetos Puffs, Cheetos Paws, Cheetos Twists, Cheetos Bawws, and Cheetos Whirws are aww finished wif a drying stage in warge ovens.[37] As of 2010, Frito-Lay has 14 fried-Cheetos pwants in 11 states droughout de United States.[36]

Marketing

The first Cheetos mascot was de Cheetos Mouse, which debuted in 1971 using de swogans "The cheese dat goes crunch!" and "Haiw Chee-sar!". The character was phased out around 1979.

The Cheetos brand is commonwy recognized by association wif its second and current mascot, an andropomorphic swy, smoof-voiced cartooncheetah named Chester Cheetah. Chester first appeared in tewevision commerciaws in 1986, known for concwuding Cheetos advertisements wif swogans, which have evowved over time. He used bof "The cheese dat goes crunch!" and "It ain't easy bein' cheesy" as swogans from 1986 to 1997, and den "Dangerouswy cheesy" from 1997 onwards.[38] In 2003, Chester was first rendered as a computer-generated character in de United States, whiwe continuing to appear in a traditionawwy-animated form in some oder countries where de brand is sowd.[39]

Beginning in 2008, Cheetos advertising and promotion broadened in regards to age appeaw, wif a revised focus on an aduwt demographic. In dis personification, Chester speaks wif a mid-Atwantic accent and encourages peopwe to use deir Cheetos in acts of revenge or to sowve probwems.[39] In February 2009, Cheetos was de subject of its first Super Boww commerciaw. In de US$3miwwion, 30 second advertisement, a "woud, chatty woman" is tawking on her mobiwe phone at a restaurant. Chester de Cheetah persuades anoder customer to toss Cheetos onto de ground, attracting a fwock of birds to drive away de obnoxious woud-tawking customer.[40][41] The scenario depicted in dis commerciaw exempwifies de aduwt-oriented demes of subversion and revenge, which continue to be prevawent in Cheetos advertisements produced since 2008.[39]

On August 15, 2017, Frito-Lay announced de opening of its The Spotted Cheetah pop-up restaurant in New York, wif dishes made wif Cheetos wif chef Anne Burreww. According to de Waww Street Journaw, de restaurant's reserve spots qwickwy sowd out.[43]

In popuwar cuwture

Cheetos have been de subject of pubwic and media attention on muwtipwe occasions due to de unpredictabwe shapes dat form during de manufacturing process. Cheetos have been found in shapes which resembwed de appearance of popuwar or historicaw figures. A singwe Cheeto described as being in de shape of Michaew Jackson doing de Moonwawk Dance sowd for $35.18 on eBay in de summer of 2009 at de time of Jackson's deaf, attracting nationaw media coverage in de U.S.[44] A coupwe who found a Cheetos snack in a shape dey described as resembwing Jesus Christ nicknamed it "Cheesus" and garnered media attention as a resuwt of deir consideration of sewwing on eBay.[45][46] In 2016-7, "Cheeto Jesus" and variations dereon became a common nickname for Donawd Trump.[47][48][49]

Fwavors

Crunchy

Puffs

Fwamin' Hot Crunchy

Fwamin' Hot Puffs

Fwamin' Hot Limon Crunchy

XXTRA Fwamin' Hot Crunchy

Reduced Fat Fwamin' Hot Puffs

Reduced Fat Puffs

Cheddar Jawapeño Crunchy

Note dat dese are de main fwavors avaiwabwe year-round worwdwide, dere are many oder seasonaw fwavors, as weww as differentwy shaped Cheetos.[50]